contents abstract 1 chapter 1: the global garment industry ... · countries with an abundant...

Contents

Abstract 1

Chapter 1: The Global Garment Industry (Background) 3

Chapter 2: Case Study: The Garment Industry in Bangladesh 8

Chapter 3: Stakeholders and Responsibilities 15

Chapter 4: Challenges and Successes 26

Chapter 5: Conclusion: Possibilities and Proposals for the Garment Industry in Bangladesh30

Bibliography 33

日本語概要 40

Thesis Topic: The Development of the Fast Fashion Industry in Bangladesh:

Has it made Garment Factory Workers’ Lives Better?

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Major: International Studies, Kanazawa University

Supervisor: Senan Fox

Submission Date: 12/01/2016

Thesis Topic: The Development of the Fast Fashion Industry in Bangladesh: Has it made

Garment Factory Workers’ Lives Better?

Key Words

Garment industry, fast fashion, workers’ rights, Bangladesh, Rana Plaza, economical

development, working conditions, safety, garment factories, global economy

Abstract

This research will evaluate the influence of the fast fashion industry on workers’ lives and

rights in Bangladesh over the past three decades, when the global pace of production

accelerated. Firstly, this thesis will discuss the general background of the global garments

industry, and its working conditions by considering the numbers of accidents so far as

indicators of conditions. Next, this thesis will focus more exclusively on the garments

industry in Bangladesh, which is now one of the leading exporting countries in the world. As

shown in a number of high-profile accidents, it has also suffered from the negative effects of

the fast fashion industry. By analyzing the case of this country, including a number of tragic

accidents in Bangladesh and its strategies to compete in the world market, this thesis will

examine the effects of this industry on Bangladeshi lives. This thesis will investigate whether

the exploitation of Third World workers is a problem without end or if there have been some

improvements compared to the past. Then this research will discuss where the responsibilities

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lie. After that, this research will examine some of the successes and challenges in terms of

improving the current situation and will discuss some possible solutions. The research will

use a variety of primary and secondary sources, including official documents from

international organizations or governments, journal and news articles, and statistics from

business and trade sectors. Following this, this thesis will evaluate the effects of the

development of the fast fashion industry in Bangladesh and conclude with some of the

author’s opinions and proposals.

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Chapter 1: The Global Garment Industry (Background)

The apparel industry is now playing a major role in the global economy, creating employment

opportunities, getting the economy moving, and leading to the progress of women by creating

a place to work. Approximately seventy-five million people were employed in the global

apparel market in 2014, and women constitute on average sixty-eight percent of the

employees and in some countries, they represent as much as 90 percent of the workforce

(ILO, 2014). This industry was valued at USD 1.7 trillion (approximately 210 trillion

Japanese yen) in 2012 (Fashion United, 2014).

The textile industry is now spread across many countries, but it was not until the late

twentieth century that there was a significant change in this industry. In the 1980s, it was

believed that countries outside the United States and Europe would have technological

disadvantages and could not afford the newly emerging technologies, which made it possible

to create high-quality garment products (Nabahat, 2007). However, at the same time,

developing countries in particular began to focus on the garment industry in order to become

industrialized, and their exports dramatically expanded before the 1970s. The US and

European countries began to fear that one day the exports from developing countries would

overwhelm their domestic garment industries. Thus, the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) was

concluded in 1973 and became effective in the following year. This arrangement imposed

quantitative restrictions on the garment exports of a number of major exporting countries,

mostly developing countries, in order to protect the domestic textile industries of the US and

of European countries. Therefore the garment-producing firms, which originated from these

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quota-imposed countries, were motivated to seek new bases in countries with no quotas

(Fukunishi and Yamagata, 2012). They therefore turned to the latecomer, low-income

countries with an abundant low-wage labor force; Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh for

example. This arrangement was originally planned to end in 1977 but it was renewed six

times because the US and European countries suffered from the oil crisis in 1973 and the

sudden rise in the dollar’s foreign-exchange value. Hence, their domestic garment industry

became weak. In 1995, the Arrangement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) became operative.

This arrangement aimed to integrate the trade of textile products into the General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT ) and promote free trade in this sector. Until this integration, 1

textile products had been the exception of free trade, so textile products were imposed. This

arrangement planned to add 49 percent of the garment commodities as non-imposed goods

with three stages in ten years, and the remaining 51 percent within another ten years (Jetro,

2004). Finally, in 2005, the MFA came to an end and this was expected to bring about a

critical change; it was expected that large exporters, such as China and India, would

overwhelm other low-income garment exporters, or that the small exporters, such as

Bangladesh and Pakistan, which have little competitiveness, would lose their exporting

opportunities established under the quota system (Jetro, 2004). In fact, US imports from

China dramatically increased by four hundred fifty percent and the prices dropped by thirty-

eight percent. However, other South Asian apparel exporters did not suffer from the Chinese

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an international treaty to promote free trade and 1

economic development by reducing. tariffs and other restrictions. It was taken over by World Trade Organization (WTO) and was dissolved in 1995

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market share increase because many of them could increase their sales to the US market

when the quota was removed (Harrigan and Barrows, 2009). It is estimated that this success

was owed to the low wage labor force because these low-income countries do not have high

enough productivity levels compared to China and other big exporting countries and their

transportation infrastructure is ineffective (Fukunishi and Yamagata, 2012).

Table 1 shows top the fifteen clothes exporting countries from 1980 to 2010, before and after

the termination of the MFA in 2005. In this table, the countries defined as low-income

economies by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2015, with a Gross National Income

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Table 1. Top 15 Clothes Exporting Countries

1980 1990 2000 2010

1 Hong Kong Hong Kong China China

2 Italy Italy Hong Kong Hong Kong

3 Korea China Italy Italy

4 Germany Germany Mexico Germany

5 Taiwan Korea United States Bangladesh

6 France France Germany Turkey

7 United Kingdom Taiwan Turkey India

8 China Portugal India Viet Nam

9 United States Turkey France France

10 Belgium-Luxemburg United Kingdom Bangladesh Belgium

11 Netherlands Thailand Korea Spain

12 Finland United States Indonesia Netherlands

13 India India United Kingdom Indonesia

14 Poland Netherlands Belgium United Kingdom

15 Portugal Belgium-Luxemburg Thailand United States

Source: WTO statistics database



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(GNI) per capita of $4,125 (499,290 Japanese yen) or less, are Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,

and Vietnam.

It is clear that some low-income countries increased their exports gradually and moved up

the ranks in recent years. The termination of the quota system brought about the dynamism of

the global garment industry (Fukunishi and Yamagata, 2012). After the removal of the quota

system, the global pace of production accelerated and trading companies or retailers searched

more and more for lower-cost assemblers. Thus, supply chains have become more

desegregated, competition in the apparel industry has intensified, and the need for faster and

more flexible production has grown. This cost-cutting competition has resulted in wage

reductions and a deterioration in workers’ welfare (UNIDO, 2002).

The Garment Workers’ Lives

The garment industry in developing countries is known as the informal economy (Stotz and

Kane, 2015). The informal economy generally means poor employment conditions and is

associated with increasing poverty. Its employees are not protected under the legal system

and hence they do not have access to social security or other workers’ rights (ILO, 2002).

Even though the national laws of low-income countries in Asia set minimum wage rates,

which differ from country to country, garment workers in these countries often have to work

overtime hours to earn just the legal minimum wage (ILO, 2014). According to one source,

the working conditions are so harsh in Cambodia for example that some women would rather

be prostitutes than work in the garment industry (Vice News, 2014).

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In numerous countries, workers are often trapped inside factories for hours, and are often

locked inside an unsafe building for their entire shift, including overtime shifts (Huff Spot

Business, 2013). This is one of the reasons why numerous workers have died over the past

ten years. From 2005 to 2014, at least 8 industrial accidents have occurred and more than

1339 people were killed and more than 2642 people were injured (CBC News, 2013).

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Chapter 2: Case Study: The Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Country Profile

Bangladesh is located in South Asia and shares a border with India and Myanmar. According

to the World Bank, its income level is categorized as lower middle income. It classifies the

world’s economy level by using the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita; low-income

economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita of $1,045 (127,439 yen) or less;

middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of more than $1,045 but less than

$12,746 (1,554,390 yen) in one year; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita

of $12,746 or more. Lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income economies are

separated at a GNI per capita of $4,125 (503,049 yen) (World Bank, 2014). Bangladesh’s

GNI per capita was $1,080 (131,707 yen) in 2014, slightly above the low-income economy

level. The population was estimated at 158,512,570 on July 1st, 2014, and was ranked in the

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Map of BangladeshSource: BBC, 2014



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eighth position in the world’s most populated countries in the world. In addition, the country

is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 1,101 people per square

kilometer (Worldometers, 2015). Although Bangladesh has reduced population growth and

improved health and education in recent years, poverty is still deep and widespread. The

major industry is agriculture, but it is not enough to meet all the demands for jobs, hence

many Bangladeshis seek work abroad, sometimes illegally (BBC, 2015). Many overseas

investors come to the country to take advantage of its cheap labor force, low production costs

and huge workforce (IBTimes, 2014). This is why garment manufacturing has become the

largest urban-based sector in the country. Bangladesh’s Human Development Index (HDI)

places it in the low human development category, ranked 146th out of 187 countries and

territories in 2013. Even though its HDI value increased by seventy per cent between 1980

and 2013, around 43.3% of the population still lives on less than $1.25 per day; about 150

yen per day, and many people face the fear of falling back into poverty if they lose their jobs

or are affected by natural calamities such as floods which frequently destabilize the country

(UNDP, 2015).

The Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s garment products accounts for around eighty per cent of total exports, about 24

billion dollar (about 2,898 billion yen) in 2014. Its main trading partners are the US, EU

countries, Canada and Japan. Most of its garment exports are made from imported textiles,

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thus cotton accounts for 14.9 percent of total imports, about 5.4 billion dollars (about 648

billion yen) in 2014 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2015).

The garment industry in Bangladesh developed dramatically after 1978, when Desh

Garments, a Bangladeshi garment company, and Daewoo, one of the biggest conglomerates

in South Korea, concluded a consignment contract, which aimed for technical and marketing

collaboration. The reason why garment-exporting firms in East Asia sought Bangladeshi

partners was because North America and Europe did not impose a quota on Bangladesh for

the garment exports. With the help of no quota restrictions, an abundant labor force at low

wage level and an already established garment industry infrastructure, the production and

export growth was rapid and steady (Yunus and Yamagata, 2012, 86). With the outbreak of

the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983, more companies branched out into Bangladesh to avoid

market turmoil. In the same year, an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) was set up by the

Bangladeshi government in Chittagong, to attract export-oriented investments from abroad

(Sekine, 2010). In addition, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (BGMEA) was established in the same year. This is one of the largest trade

associations in the country, and promotes export-oriented garment production (BGMEA,

2011). These two factors encouraged the further development of the garment industry in

Bangladesh (Yunus and Yamagata, 2012). Now there are eight EPZs in the country, including

in Dhaka. In 1985, several countries, the US, Canada, France and the United Kingdom,

decided to impose quotas on Bangladesh under the MFA, however France and the United

Kingdom changed their diplomatic policy and removed the quotas in 1986 to support the

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development of Bangladesh (Sekine, 2010). Even though the quotas had been applied until

the MFA phase-out, Bangladesh has succeeded in obeying the quotas by allocating them to

firms which showed good export performance and were capable of dealing with them (Yunus

and Yamagata, 2012). The growth has been dramatic, and the number of factories increased

from 30 factories in 1980 to 4222 in fiscal year 2013-14. Four million workers are employed

in this sector, and 80 percent of them are women, most of whom are poor and are from

disadvantaged backgrounds (BGMEA, 2015).

The Rana Plaza Factory Collapse (2013)

The development of the garment industry in Bangladesh has contributed to poverty reduction

in both urban and rural areas; economic growth has been at over six per cent annually, and

GNI per capita increased from USD 260 to 1,080 (31,707 yen to 131,707 yen) between 1981

and 2014 (World Bank, 2015). However, working conditions are usually severe, a fact that

was revealed by the collapse of garment factories in Bangladesh. For example, on April 24,

2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-story building in Dhaka collapsed and over 1,100 garment

workers were killed (Bolle, 2014). This accident took place five months after another

accident at the Tazreen Fashion Limited factory, killing 112 workers on December 17, 2012

(Newark Times, 2012). This building was a commercial facility which contained five

factories and manufacturing clothing products for famous brands such as Mango, Benetton,

and Primark (Ito, 2014, pp.42-43).

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The structure of the Rana Plaza factory before its collapse Source: libcom.org, 2013

The illustration shows the structure of the building before it collapsed. This building was

originally a four-story building with supporting walls, housing a shopping center, bank and

other facilities on the lower floors. The fifth to eighth floors were built between 2008 and

2012 without any supporting walls (Marriott, 2013). These added floors were constructed

illegally, with poor quality materials, and giant generators and sewing machines had been

placed on these floors. Since the building was not durable enough to support this heavy

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http://libcom.org



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machinery as well as numerous workers, big cracks on the wall appeared on the day before

the collapse (Hoskins, 2015). In addition, this building did not satisfy the construction rules

and conditions under the Bangladeshi law and had not received planning permission from the

government (Ito, 2014: 44).

In addition, the wage level of the garment sector in Bangladesh is one of the lowest in the

world. Compared to other major garment-exporting countries in Asia, Bangladeshi workers

earn about half of the lowest applicable rate; the monthly minimum wage for entry-level

workers in Bangladesh was US$ 39 (4,756 yen) per month, while Cambodia was US$80

(9,756 yen), Pakistan was US$79 (9,634 yen), and Sri Lanka was US$ 73 (8,902 yen) in

2013. What is more, Bangladesh has adjusted the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) minimum

wage only three times since it was first set in 1985, while other countries adjust them on an

annual basis (ILO, 2013).

The physical and psychological abuses within factories also help to reveal the negative side

of the development of this sector. As mentioned above, the day before the collapse of the

Rana Plaza, big cracks appeared on the wall. On the day of the collapse, the shops and the

bank which were located on the first floor was closed because government inspectors asked

workers to evacuate from the building after noticing some cracks (Mariani and Valenti,

2012). However, the garment factory bosses forced the workers who hesitated to enter the

building to work as usual, moreover in some cases, managers threatened them with dismissal

if they did not obey. Workers regularly face abuses such as violence, harassment, forced

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overtime, unpaid wages and bonuses or delay of payment, and pressures not to use the toilet

during the entire shift (Human Rights Watch, 2015).

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Chapter 3: Stakeholders and Responsibilities

After some highly publicized workplace accidents in Bangladesh, the working conditions of

garment workers gained more attention from the outside world. There are various

stakeholders in this sector; government institutions, employers’ organizations/associations,

trade unions, NGOs, and international organizations, retailers, and factory owners and

managers (Fair Wear Foundation, 2013). International Labour Organization (ILO)

conventions set minimum labour standards, and even though it has no legal binding force,

this would help us to understand the working conditions within the Bangladeshi garment

industry. Actually, Bangladesh has been an active member of the ILO since 1972 and it has

ratified 35 ILO Conventions including seven fundamental conventions compared with Japan

which has ratified 49 conventions including six fundamental conventions (ILO, 2015). Using

these conventions as measures, this thesis will investigate where the responsibilities lie.

• Convention 029: Forced labour Convention, 1930 and Convention 105: Abolition of Forced

Labour Convention, 1957

These two conventions regulate forced labour. According to Convention 29, any work or

service in case of emergency such as natural disasters or conflicts, and in any

circumstances that would endanger the existence of people’s lives is defined as forced

labour. Convention 105 was published to complement and strengthen Convention 29, and

any work under political oppression or any work as a sanction against participating in

strikes is prohibited (ILO, 2015). In addition to these conventions which restrict forced

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labour, all forms of forced labour are strictly prohibited by the Constitution of the People’s

Republic of Bangladesh.

• Convention 087: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention,

1949

Convention 087 warrants the right to associate. Article 2 and Article 3 state the following:

Article 2 Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation.

Article 3 1. Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to draw up

their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes.

2. The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.

(ILO, 2015)

Also, Bangladesh guarantees the right to form associations or unions in Article 38 of the

Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

• Convention 001: Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919

Article 2 The working hours of persons employed in any public or private industrial undertaking or in any branch thereof, other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed, shall not exceed eight in the day and forty-eight in the week, with some exceptions hereinafter provided for:

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(c) where persons are employed in shifts it shall be permissible to employ persons in excess of eight hours in any one day and forty-eight hours in any one week, if the average number of hours over a period of three weeks or less does not exceed eight per day and forty-eight per week.

(ILO, 2015)

In addition, the national labour laws of Bangladesh also restrict the number of working

hours.

• Convention 155: Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981

Bangladesh has not ratified this convention, but Bangladeshi national law mentions

workers’ safety in Chapter IV of the Factories Act, such as providing a means of escape in

case of fire or other accidents, and maintaining the floors, stairs and passages. Also very

importantly, the national law mentions responsibility in the case of dangerous buildings as

follows;

Section 39. Safety of building and machinery (1) If it appears to the Inspector that any building or part of a building or any

part of the ways, machinery or plant in a factory is in such a condition that it is dangerous to human life or safety, he may serve on the Manager of the factory, an order in writing specifying the measures which, in his opinion, should be adopted, and requiring them to be carried out before a specified date.

(2) If it appears to the Inspector that the use of any building or part of a building or of any part of the ways, machinery or plant in a factory involves imminent danger to human life or safety, he may serve on the Manager of the factory an order in writing prohibiting its use until it has been properly repaired or altered.

(NATLEX, 2015)

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Even though laws and conventions exist, the reality is that a lot of factories do not obey these

conventions. According to a report by Human Rights Watch in 2015, workers are

experiencing bad working conditions. For example, when they could not reach their

production quotas, the bosses started shouting at them or would also beat their workers, or

even workers have to work extra hours to make up for it without pay.

Each above-mentioned stakeholder is concerned with working conditions in Bangladeshi

garment industry. Retailers demand clothes to factories, factory owners or managers accept

requests and make workers work, UN organizations, trade unions, and the government set

laws or systems related to labour rights, and NGOs tries to improve the current situation.

By focusing on each stakeholder’s responsibilities, this thesis will now investigate where the

responsibilities lie.

Retailers and Brands

The illustration below shows the breakdown of a T-shirt with a price tag of 29 euros (about

3.867 yen).

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It is clear that retailers and brands profit the most and workers profit the least. In some

interviews shown in journals, it is said that the factory owners want to cut their cost to gain

higher profits, however, profit for factories in Bangladesh account for only 4% of the entire

cost. It is estimated that one of the causes of bad working conditions is the pressure from

retailers who demand faster and cheaper fashion products. According to Dara O’Rourke, an

expert on work place monitoring at the University of California, factory managers think that

it is too risky to request flexibility in terms of orders and deadlines. because the western

retailers pressure them to deliver the products on time, even when managers saw cracks in

the walls of Rana Plaza. If they dismiss the delivery deadline, they cannot sell the products to

anyone else and must burden the cost of the production, and this might lead them into

bankruptcy (Dara O’Rourke, 2013). However, the buyers sometimes are not fully aware of

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Breakdown of costs of a T-shirt Source: Clean Clothes Campaign, 2014



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compliances or not is an audit. Large buyers carry out their own audits, but smaller buyers

demand audits to local companies, and most of the staff who carry them out are Bangladeshi.

They check only easily noticeable problems like child labor or whether there are first aid

boxes and toilets (Ahmad and Nathan, 2014: 17). In addition, these audits are not done

without notice. In the Rana Plaza factory, for example, the owners knew about the visits of

inspectors in advance and would hide child workers, and in another factory, employees were

given safety equipment before visitors arrived and had to return it after they had left (Human

Right Watch, 2015).

Government institutions

The lack of political stability and enforcement power also contributes to these violations in

factories. Bangladesh has a mainly two-party political system and the competition and rivalry

between these two main parties makes the political situation in Bangladesh unstable, and

recently there is a fear that the Islamic extremism is rising within the country (Ministry of

Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2015). The Bangladesh Department of Labour (DOL) has limited

power in the case of violations; it does not have the authority to enforce decisions, all it can

do is to file complaints with a labour court (Human Rights Watch, 2015). Also, corruption

makes things more difficult. Bangladesh is known to be one of the most corrupt countries in

the world (Business Anti-Corruption Portal, 2014). See the below bar chart.

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The chart shows how corrupt the main clothing exporting countries are, the smaller number

means the country is highly corrupt. According to this, Bangladesh is the most corrupt

country among the major garment exporting countries. In many factory fires, it was later

revealed that corruption allowed the factory to stay in business; as a result of corruption. For

example, the Rana Plaza factory was cleared to continue operations following safety checks a

month before the factory collapse (Zamen, 2012). In addition to that, many of the factory

owners are local politicians or parliament members and have political influence, therefore

laws remain weak and are not respected (Al-Mahmood and Wright, 2013). Even though �21

Perceived Corruption in Top 10 Clothing ExportersSource: Transparency International, 2012



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Bangladesh has adequate laws which govern the safety of buildings, these collusive ties

between the government and garment factories lead to a disregard for workers’ safety.

Factory owners and bosses

Many factory owners in Bangladesh have political power. In 2013, more than 30 garment

industry bosses were parliament members and accounted for about 10 per cent of its

lawmakers in 2013 (Charmers, 2013). The question here is; if they have that much political

power, why do they not use that power to improve working conditions? The pressure from

buyers is one of the reasons for the current situation. However, as a matter of fact, most of the

factory owners desire to maximize their profits. They are responsible for all the abuses within

the factories, such as non-payment or late payment of wages, discrimination, forced

overtime, poor facilities, and most importantly, union busting. The right to organize or unite

is recognized as a fundamental right in the Bangladesh Constitution, and unions have the

right to draw up their own constitutions and rules (Fair Wear Foundation, 2013:19). However,

some workers related to the setting up of trade unions have faced serious violence from

managers or from local criminals. According to Human Right Watch, a representative of a

labour union was forcefully suppressed and got injured when he tried to organize a union

with his colleagues, and in another case, when women representatives of labour unions

handed in documents for registrations of the unions, they faced acts of retaliation such as a

drastic increase in the amount of work, menacing behavior and bullying (Human right Watch,

2015). In addition, in 2012, a labour activist whose name was Aminul Islam, was found

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murdered outside Dhaka. He was arrested in 2010 because of his acts of protesting against

low wages, and according to other labour activists, he was tortured by the police and

intelligence services (Ali Manik and Bajaj, 2012).

Workers

Generally, garment workers are known to be the victims of the fashion industry. Nevertheless,

they also have a responsibility for protecting their rights by themselves. Labour unions

existed before the collapse of the Rana Plaza, but the problem is that some members are

indifferent to union activities. They do not realize that they should take actions and protest to

improve their working conditions, which includes better wages and improved working hours.

In some cases, leaders of unions are even bought off by rich employers (Japanese Internnal

Labour Foundation, 2012). In addition, workers can quit their jobs and shift to another

factory if they are not satisfied with conditions or simply they do not like their jobs, this lets

people know about the conditions inside factories and (Ahmed and Nathan, 2014:15).

However, each worker’s bargaining power is very small, so it is better that they know about

the unions and join them, and then put pressure on employers.

Consumers

Consumers’ attitudes in terms of choosing what to wear and buy also have an influence on

garment workers’ lives. Psychologically, when people try to buy something, they compare the

immediate pleasure of acquisition and the pain of paying. The pleasure of shopping contains

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not only buying something that someone really wants, but also getting a good deal, according

to Dr. Tom Meyvis. Fast fashion provides a solution to this problem; it is easy to buy because

of the cheap prices, sometimes imitating the high-end designers and giving customers the

feeling of getting a bargain (Bain, 2015).

The charts follow shows the shift in the share of apparel products in relation to total spending

and the shift in the amount of garment products purchasing by American citizens. These

show that even though they spend less money on apparel products, they buy more clothes

than before. It is estimated that they tend to choose cheaper clothes than the clothes with

better stitching or with higher quality fabrics. This need for cheaper clothes leads brands to

create more cheap clothes, hence factories and workers have to produce more cheaply and

rapidly.

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‘Americans buy a lot more clothes than before’, ‘Spending on clothes a share of total spending’ Source: Quartz, 2015



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Chapter 4: Challenges and Successes

Since the collapse of Rana Plaza, a wide range of stakeholders have played important roles in

improving the working conditions for garment industry workers in Bangladesh. In the

aftermath of the collapse of Rana Plaza building for example, the Accord on Fire and

Building Safety in Bangladesh was signed. The accord is a legal agreement between global

brands and retailers and trade unions, and they are designed to build a safe and healthy RMG

industry. The following illustration shows how the accord works in Bangladesh.

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How the Accord on Fire and Building Safety worksSource: Bangladesh Accord Foundation, 2014



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This accord was signed by global and local trade unions, NGOs and workers’ rights groups,

and by over 150 apparel corporations from 20 countries. Meanwhile, 26 mainly North

American brands established the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (ILO, 215). Through

acts like this, various stakeholders have started to work together to ensure the workers’ safety.

Legislative change including the simplification of rules related to the registration of trade

unions made it easier to form a labour union. According to the ILO, the number of labour

unions was 132 at the end of 2012, and it increased to 437 in March 2015. The Accord and

the Alliance sent their inspection teams to factories in Bangladesh, and up to now, 661

factories have been inspected by the Alliance inspection team (Alliance for Bangladesh

Worker Safety, 2015) and 1289 factories have been inspected by the Accord inspection team

(Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, 2015). In addition, the inspection service

was upgraded to a department of the Bangladeshi government, and the number of labour

inspectors increased from 92 in 2012 to 276 in 2015 (ILO, 2015). Both of them deliver

training programs for training workers and factory owners. The programs of the Alliance are

focused on teaching all factory members basic knowledge and skills related to safety

(Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, 2015). The goal of the program of the Accord is to

empower workers and to support factory owners to take ownership in terms of making and

keeping their factories safe, including making contributions to the inspections, ensuring that

people are able to access a credible safety and health complaint mechanism, and ensuring

protection for people who refuse unsafe work if needed (Accord on Fire and Building Safety

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in Bangladesh, 2015). To create an environment where workers can organize without fear, the

ILO provides technical assistance for trade union organizations in collaboration with the

National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) and the IndustriALL

Bangladesh Council (IBC).

The Bangladeshi government has made changes to the Labor Act. However, the government

did not remove provisions that limit workers’ rights, and also it expanded government control

over unions’ access to foreign funding. The law requires approval from the Labor and

Employment Ministry before trade unions or employer organizations can get international

funds. Moreover, the revised law does not include any measure to deal with the sexual

harassment of women (Human Rights Watch, 2013).

Corruption is still a major problem in the garment industry. As mentioned in Chapter 3, in the

year 2014, Bangladesh was one of the most corrupt countries in the world, this was one year

after the Rana Plaza accident. Actually, Bangladesh joined the United Nations Convention

against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2007, and made efforts to fight corruption: initiating

institutional reforms, promoting changes to the law, and implementing other practices to

reduce the opportunities for corruption (The Government of the People’s Republic of

Bangladesh, 2008). Even though the country’s legal framework became stronger, practical

implementation has been quite slow and weak. Various factors have contributed to and

exacerbated this problem; a culture of non-compliance, a lack of political will, insufficient

resources, citizens’ poor awareness of their rights and inadequate access to information

(Transparency International Bangladesh, 2014:9).

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Consumers have been becoming more concerned about the origin of clothes especially after

the Rana Plaza collapse, and expenditure on ethical clothing continues to grow. The concept

of ethical fashion, which represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of

clothing which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing the impact

on the environment is gaining popularity gradually (Ethical Fashion Forum, 2015).

According to Mintel’s UK consumer trends report for 2015, 44% of UK shoppers claim that

the ethical treatment of workers influences their shopping choice (Mintel, 2014). In fact,

spending on ethical clothing increased by 26.6% between 2000 and 2013 in the UK (Ethical

Consumer, 2014).

International companies have made contributions to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund; Gap,

Walmart, H&M and Primark, for example. By September 2015, approximately $30 million

(about 3.7 billion yen) has been donated to victims and their families (Rana Plaza

Arrangement, accessed in 2015). Some major high-end fashion brands such as Vivienne

Westwood and Stella McCarthy have become partners with the Ethical Fashion Initiatives

and produced ethical fashion collections (Ethical Fashion Initiatives, 2015). Big retailers of

fast fashion brands such as Topshop and ASOS have showed their support for ethical and

sustainable fashion, and now these brands are stocking designers’ labels under new ethical

lines (Mc Gowan, 2015).

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Chapter 5: Conclusion: Possibilities and Proposals for the Garment Industry in

Bangladesh

The development of the apparel fashion industry made it possible for Bangladesh to develop

economically, and the rate of poverty has actually decreased. It created millions of jobs and

women are now able to get a job outside of their homes. These are the positive sides of the

development, however, Bangladesh is still struggling with its negative effects: for example,

dangerous factory equipment, excessive overtime working hours, discrimination, and low

wages. Therefore, the development of the garment industry in Bangladesh has not made all of

the Bangladeshi garment workers’ lives better. The Rana Plaza tragedy has become a turning

point for the apparel industry today, and as a result, consumers have started to become more

concerned about where and how clothes are made.

For improved conditions, current support from international organizations and international

companies must be continued until workers and factories are able to maintain safe working

conditions by themselves. Since the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and

the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety have been established, new inspectors have been

given responsibility for investigating and monitoring workers and workplaces. Therefore

many dangerous factories have been closed and workers’ safety has improved. However,

these two agreements are scheduled to end in 2018. By the time of the expiry dates of these

agreements, Bangladeshi people ought to be able to play the role of the current inspectors.

Therefore, training is crucial. If workers learn about the mechanism of the garment industry

and worker’s rights and recognize that they are responsible for themselves and how important

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it is to take actions, working conditions could be improved. Even after the expiration, there

should a system that NGOs, other international organizations or the government can inspect

the factories regularly to maintain the steady condition.

In addition, more needs to be done to draw attention to the origins of clothes as well as to the

workers and their conditions. Even though the ethical fashion movement is growing in

momentum, there are still a lot of brands producing tons of new clothes and consumers who

wear them for a while and then throw them away. In fact, the quality of clothes today is

inferior to clothes in the past and they have less durability. This is because there is a cycle as

follows; expensive clothes do not sell well, the need for producing cheap clothes rises, the

quality of materials and manufacturers declines, and the quality of a product declines. Then

this leads to a cut in labour costs and workers suffer from bad working conditions as a result.

Therefore, in order to break this cycle and draw more attention to ethical fashion, brands and

editors of fashion magazines need to promote the movement. As of today, famous magazines

such as Vogue and Elle write articles and run special features on ethical or eco-friendly

fashion. However, this might lead people to think that ethical fashion is something special

and an unusual thing, and it might become a temporary trend. Nowadays, consumers’ lives

are separated from manufacturing processes and many of them do not know or even wonder

why they can buy an apparel product at such a cheap price. Therefore it is natural that people

choose a product at the lowest price. It is important therefore that the media and brands take a

consistent approach and make the mechanism of producing cheap clothes and the current

conditions in producing countries widely known. By creating an environment where people

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can easily come to know the facts about their clothes and thus make an informed decision

before purchasing an item, the current situation in Bangladesh and other producing countries

would become better in the near future.

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Bibliography

This bibliography is divided into the following sections: books, government and NGO sources, journals and academic articles, newspapers and periodicals and other online sources.

Books

Fukunishi, Takahiro and Yamagata, Tatsufumi (2014), The Garment Industry in Low-Income Countries: An Entry Point of Industrialization, IDE-JETRO, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan

NGO and Governmental Sources

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, Protecting and Empowering Bangladesh’s Garment Workers: Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety Second Annual Report, Dhaka, September 2015 http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/files/Alliance%20Second%20Annual%20Report,%20Sept,%202015.pdf

Aminuzzaman, Salahuddin and Khair, Sumaiya (2014), National Integrity System Assessment Bangladesh 2014, Transparency International Bangladesh, Dhaka, May 2014 http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/nisarticle/bangladesh_2014

Bangladesh Accord Secretariat, Quarterly Aggregate Report -on remediation progress at RGM factories covered by the Accord, Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, November 5th, 2015 http://bangladeshaccord.org/wp-content/uploads/Quarterly-Aggregate-Report-5-November-2015.pdf

Bolle, Mary Jane, Bangladesh Apparel Factory Collapse: Background in Brief, Congressional Research Service, United States Congress, January 10, 2014 https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R43085.pdf

Business Anti-Corruption Portal (2014), ‘Bangladesh Country Profile: Business Corruption in Bangladesh’, June 2014, http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/south-asia/bangladesh/snapshot.aspx, accessed on 3/12/2015

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http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/files/Alliance%2520Second%2520Annual%2520Report,%2520Sept,%25202015.pdf

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Clean Clothes Campaign (2014), Tailored Wages: Are the Big Brands Paying the People who Make Our Clothes Enough to Live On?, Amsterdam, March 2014 https://www.cleanclothes.org/livingwage/tailoredwages/tailored-wage-report-pdf

Ethical Fashion Forum (2010), ‘What is Ethical Fashion?’, Jordan Harper, London, http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issue/ethical-fashion, accessed on 6/12/2015

Ethical Fashion Initiatives (2015), ‘Our Partners’, http://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/our-partners/, accessed on 8/12/2015

Fair Wear Foundation (2013), ‘Bangladesh Country Study 2013’, 2013 http://www.fairwear.org/ul/cms/fck-uploaded/documents/countrystudies/bangladesh/CSBangladesh2013.pdf

Fashion United (2014), ‘Global Fashion Industry Statistics - International Apparel’, https://www.fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics-international-apparel, accessed on 02/12/2015

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Human Rights Watch (2013), Bangladesh: Amended Labour Law Falls Short- Some Improvement, But Workers’ Rights Still at Serious Risk, New York, July 15, 2013https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/15/bangladesh-amended-labor-law-falls-short

Human Rights Watch (2015), Whoever Raises their Head Suffers the Most: Workers’ Rights in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories, New York, April 22, 2015https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/04/22/whoever-raises-their-head-suffers-most/workers-rights-bangladeshs-garment

International Labour Organization (2002), International Labour Conference 90th Session 2002Report VI: Decent work and the informal economy, Sixth item on the agenda, Geneva, 2002 http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/rep-vi.pdf

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http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issue/ethical-fashion

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https://www.fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics-international-apparel

http://www.u4.no/recommended-reading/uncac-a-bangladesh-compliance-and-gap-analysis/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/15/bangladesh-amended-labor-law-falls-short

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International Labour Organization (2015), RANA PLAZA TWO YEARS ON: Progress made & challenges ahead for the Bangladesh RMG sector, Dhaka, April 2015 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-dhaka/documents/publication/wcms_317816.pdf

International Labour Organization (2014), Wages and Working Hours in the Textiles, Leather and Footwear Industries, 23-25 September 2014, Geneva http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_dialogue/@sector/documents/publication/wcms_300463.pdf

International Labour Organization NATLEX Database, ‘Bangladesh Factories Act, 1965 (No.4 of 1965)’, http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/47346/65073/E65BGD01.htm#a050, accessed on 3/12/2015

International Labour Organization NORMLEX, ‘Ratifications for Bangladesh’, http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11200:0::NO:11200:P11200_COUNTRY_ID:103500, accessed on 3/12/2015

International Labour Organizations (2013), Studies on Growth with Equity: Bangladesh Seeking Better Employment Conditions for Better Socioeconomic Outcomes, Geneva http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_229105.pdf

Mintel (2014), Consumer Trends 2015 UK, London, October 3rd, 2014 http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/social-and-lifestyle/mintel-identifies-four-key-uk-consumer-trends-for-2015

Rana Plaza Agreement (2015), ‘Rana Plaza Agreement Donors’, http://www.ranaplaza-arrangement.org/fund/donors, accessed on 8/12/2015

Stotz, Lina and Kane, Gillan (2015), Global Garment Industry Factsheet: Facts on the Global Garment Industry, Clean Clothes Campaign, Amsterdam, February 20, 2015 http://www.livingwagenow.eu/uploads/images/Docs%20General/General%20Factsheet%20Garment%20Industry%20February%202015.pdf

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Journals and Academic Sources

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World Bank (2015), ‘World Bank Data: Bangladesh’,http://data.worldbank.org/country/bangladesh, accessed on 02/12/2015

Zamen, Ifthekar (2012), Corruption and the People Who Make your Clothes, Transparency International Bangladesh, Dhaka, December 7, 2012 http://blog.transparency.org/2012/12/07/corruption-and-the-fate-of-the-people-who-make-your-clothes/

Ahmed, Nazneen and Nathan, Dev, Improving wages and working conditions in the Bangladeshi garment sector: the role of horizontal and vertical relations, Capturing the Gains, the University of Manchester, Manchester, May 2014 http://www.capturingthegains.org/pdf/ctg-wp-2014-40.pdf

Harridan, James and Barrows, Geoffrey (2006), Testing the Theory of Trade Policy: Evidence from the Abrupt End of the Multi-FiberArrangement, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, October 2006 http://www.nber.org/papers/w12579.pdf

Mariani, Riccardo David(2013), ‘Working Conditions in the Bangladeshi Garment Sector: Social Dialogue and Compliance’, Delft University of Technology, November 1st, 2013http://repository.tudelft.nl/view/ir/uuid%3A33c040ea-c468-49ca-bce7-2d0e9f0a098c/

Tokatli, Nebahat (2007), ‘Global sourcing: insights from the global clothing industry- the case of Zara, a fast fashion retailer’, Journal of Economic Geography, vol.8, pp.21-38 http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/1/21.full.pdf+html

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Newspapers, Online Media, and Other Web Sources

Al-Mahmood, Zain and Wright, Tom (25/04/2013), ‘Collapsed Factory was Built without Permit: Death Toll Climbs, More Rescued at Bangladesh Disaster Site Where Owner Lacked Authorization From Safety Agency’, The Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323789704578444280661545310

Bain, Marc (21/03/2015), ‘Consumer culture has found its perfect match in our mobile-first, fast-fashion lifestyles’, QUARTS,http://qz.com/359040/the-internet-and-cheap-clothes-have-made-us-sport-shoppers/

Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (2011), ‘About’, http://www.bgmea.com.bd/home/about, accessed on 2/12/2015

BBC (2015), ‘Bangladesh Profile - Overview’, December 1st, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12650942, accessed on 3/12/2015

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Chalmers, John (03/05/2013), ‘Special Report: How Textile Kings Weave a Hold on Bangladesh’, Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-garments-special-report-idUSBRE9411CX20130503#xSjpAzdw2VToe4Vy.97

Ghosh, Palash (25/03/2014), ‘Despite Low Pay, Poor Work Conditions, Garment Factories Empowering Millions of Bangladeshi Women’, International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.com/despite-low-pay-poor-work-conditions-garment-factories-empowering-millions-bangladeshi-women-1563419

Hoskins, Tansy (23/04/2015), ‘Reliving the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse’, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/23/rana-plaza-factory-collapse-history-cities-50-buildings

Huff Spot Business, 05/06/2013, ’10 Dirty Secrets of the Bangladesh Garment Industry’ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/bangladesh-garment-work_n_3223433.html

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Manik, Julfikar Ali and Yardley, Jim (17/12/2012), ‘Bangladesh Finds Gross Negligence in Factory Fire’, The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/world/asia/bangladesh-factory-fire-caused-by-gross-negligence.html?_r=0

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Ito, Eiichi, 『2013年バングラデシュ衣料工場（ラナプラザ）倒壊とその後』2013:

The Collapse of the Garment Factory in Bangladesh (Rana Plaza) and After, Japan Post SOKEN research vol.24 pp.42-49, September 2014

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日本語概要

本論文は、バングラデシュにおける服飾産業の発展が現地労働者に与える影響について、大量生産型の社会へと変化してきた過去20年間に焦点を当てて論じる。また、その影響の背

景や原因を明らかにしたのち、現状を打破するために必要なことは何か、筆者の意見を論じる。服飾産業の発展は、工業化の一端として、雇用の機会を作り、経済を動かし、さらには

女性の社会進出を促すなど、重要な役割を担っている。2014年の段階では約750万人もの労

働者が従事し、全世界でおよそ210兆円もの価値を生み出した。この産業に大きな変化が見られたのはつい30年前のことで、それまでは欧米諸国が中心となって生産していたのだが、アジア諸国が経済発展を遂げる過程で服飾産業に注力し生産、輸出を行ったことで、1970年代を前にして、輸出量が大幅に増加した。これに恐れをなした欧米諸国は、自国の産業を守るため、多角的繊維協定（MFA）を締結し、アパレル製品の輸出が多い国に対し関税を課したが、自由貿易化の流れに伴い廃止され、中国やインドといった大国だけでなく、バングラデシュやパキスタンなどの比較的小規模な国々も、服飾産業の生産国として確立していった。関税が撤廃されたのち、生産のグローバル化が進み、企業はより経費を削減できる取引先を国外で探し求めるようになった。ファストファッションが流行りだしたのもこの頃で、アパレル企業間の競争は激しさを増し、より速く、より柔軟性に富んだ生産が重視されるようになった。この経費削減の傾向こそが、服飾産業に従事している労働者の生活を蝕んでいるのである。先にも述べた通り、バングラデシュは今や世界でも有名なアパレル製品の生産国に成長

した。何よりも、破格とも言えるほど安い人件費が、世界のあらゆる企業を惹きつけたためである。2014年には、バングラデシュの輸出額のうち80％を服飾製品が占めており、金額にするとおよそ29兆円にまで上った。1978年にバングラデシュの企業と韓国の企業が提携したことでバングラデシュの技術力が向上し、1983年に勃発したスリランカ内戦も相まって、ますますバングラデシュに企業の注目が集まったのである。1980年に30棟しかなかった工場は、2014年には4222棟へと増加した。服飾産業が発展したことで、バングラデシュの貧困率

は減少し、経済成長率も6％を超える勢いである。しかしながら、工場に勤務する人々が皆同様に恩恵を受けているわけではない。労働環境は常に芳しくなく、近年起こった工場の火災や崩壊がそれを物語っている。2013年に起こった、ラナプラザの複合商業施設が崩壊した

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際には、その設備の杜撰さが問題となった。8階建てのこの建物は、もともと4階建てだった建物に違法に5階から8階を増築し、その支えとなる壁は設置されていなかった。増築された階に、ミシンや発電機といった機材と数千人の労働者を詰め込み稼働していたこの建物は、その重さに耐えることができず、多くの労働者を巻き添いにし、崩れ落ちたのである。こうした設備の脆弱性に加えて、バングラデシュの工場では低賃金、精神的・肉体的暴力、強制労働など、あらゆる問題が根強くはびこっている。この環境の背景には、様々なものが関わっている。まず、小売店やブランドなど、生産を

依頼するものは自己の利益を最重要に捉え、より速く、より安く生産できる拠点を求め、現地工場はその依頼に応えるために、労働環境を軽視する。また、比較的小さい企業は、現地の委託業者に依頼し生産拠点を探すため、現地工場の内部環境を知らないことが多い。次に、バングラデシュの政府であるが、バングラデシュの内政は不安定で、近年ではイスラム過激派の脅威にもさらされており、経済や産業にも影響が出ているのが現状である。これに伴い、賄賂が横行していることが、労働状況の改善を妨げている。実際、火災があった工場やラナプラザのビルも、賄賂によって稼働を許されていた。工場主の多くが地方の政治家や国会議員であるため、彼らにとって不利になるような法、つまり労働環境を改善するといったような法の整備が滞り、労働者の安全が軽視されている。加えて、工場主の多くもまた、自己の利益を高めることに注力しがちで、不利益をこうむる場合は暴力におよぶことも少なくない。労働組合員や活動家はその対象となることが多く、2012年には労働活動家であるアミヌル・イスラム氏が警察や諜報員によって殺害されたと報じられている。とはいえ労働者も、自己の労働環境に対し責任を負っている。労働組合に加入し、大人数で行動を起こすことによってそれは功を成すのだが、多くの労働者はこのことを知らず、組合員になっても行動を軽視することが多い。そのためうまく機能せず、少数で行動を起こした者達が暴力の対象となってしまう。そして最後に、消費者にも責任がある。とても手に届かないハイエンドブランドの服と似た服が、ファストファッションの店舗では安価で手に入る。このお得感に人は惹かれ、必要でないものも買ってしまうそうだ。あるデータによれば、一昔前に比べ、衣服にかける金額は減ったが、それと反比例して買う服の量は増えている。なぜ、このような安い値段で手に入るのか、気に留めていないのである。ラナプラザ縫製工場の崩壊は世界中からの注目を集めるところとなり、今まで表に出て

こなかった問題が公となり、現在の服飾産業にとって大きな転機となった。あらゆる関係者が、改善に努めるようになった。事故の翌月には、ブランド、小売店、労働組合が一体となって協定を結び、労働環境改善に向けて、労働者の教育、工場の監査などあらゆる取り組みが

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行われている。バングラデシュ政府も労働法の改正を行ったが、未だに労働者の権利を制限する規定は残され、セクシャルハラスメントに対する規定も取り入れられていないため、十分とは言えない。消費者の意識も徐々に変化してきており、近年ではエシカルファッションという、広く社会規範に配慮した生産・流通を重んずるファッションが浸透しつつある。有名デザイナーが、自己のブランドでエシカルファッションのラインを立ち上げたり、とブランド側も動きつつある。バングラデシュにおけるアパレル産業の発展は、確かに経済的成長をもたらし、貧困率

の低下にも繋がった。しかしながら、バングラデシュはいまだ、その弊害に苦難を強いられているのが現状である。悲惨な事故の後、あらゆる機関や人々がバングラデシュの服飾産業を改善させるべく動いている。しかしながら、事態を向上させるためには、継続的な支援が必要不可欠である。事故の後に締結された二つの協定は、2018年に終結する予定である。それまでに、現地の労働者や監督者たちが、自ら工場の安全を、労働者の生活を守るべく行動できるようにならなければいけない。ゆえに、教育と訓練はきわめて重要であり、協定終結後も定期的に国際機関やNGOが監査に入るシステムを作ることも必要であると考える。また、衣服の産地とともにそれを作る人々や環境にさらなる注目を集めるための取り組みも必要である。エシカルファッションが浸透しつつあるとはいえ、今でも毎日のように店先には新作が並べられ、消費され、シーズンとともに捨てられる。実際に、今日作られている服は昔のものに比べて薄く、軽く、縫製も甘くなっており、１シーズンで着られなくなる服も少なくない。それだけはやく流行がまわり、長く着られる服の売り上げが低下し、安い服の生産に傾倒し、そのため材料の質も低下し、服自体の質が低下しているのである。そのしわ寄せは労働者にもおよび、安価を追い求めコスト削減した結果、劣悪な労働環境へと繋がっている。この流れを断ち切るためにも、アパレルメーカーやファッション誌の編集者は、この現状をより多くの人に伝える必要があると考える。かの有名なVogueやELLEでは、エシカルファッションや環境に配慮したファッションを取り上げた企画をいち早く展開し、認知を広めているが、これが継続的なものでないと、人々にエシカルファッションは何か特別なもの、流行のひとつ、といった印象を与えかねない。今や消費者の生活は生産の場から隔離され、誰がどのような場所で作っているのか、知るすべもなく、あるいは気に留めることもなく、製品を消費している。「血の通った、自分と同じ人間が作っている」という自覚なしには、この現状を打破することはできないのではないか。ゆえに、メディアやブランドが、エシカルファッションの流れを一時的なものにせず、継続的に服飾産業の背景や現状を伝え続け、衣料品を購入する前によく理解できる環境を作ることが不可欠であると筆者は考える。

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contents abstract 1 chapter 1: the global garment industry ... · countries with an abundant...

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